[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 104 (Tuesday, June 15, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H2771-H2772]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NOTICE TO AIRMEN IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2021
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 1262) to establish a task force on improvements for certain
notices to airmen, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1262
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Notice to Airmen Improvement
Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. FAA TASK FORCE ON NOTAM IMPROVEMENT.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal
Aviation Administration shall establish a task force to be
known as the FAA Task Force on NOTAM Improvement (in this
section referred to as the ``Task Force'').
(b) Composition.--The Task Force shall consist of members
appointed by the Administrator, including at least one member
of each of the following:
(1) Air carrier representatives.
(2) Labor union representatives of airline pilots.
(3) Labor union certified under section 7111 of title 5,
United States Code, to represent FAA air traffic control
specialists assigned to the U.S. NOTAM Office.
(4) Labor union certified under section 7111 of title 5,
United States Code, to represent FAA aeronautical information
specialists.
(5) General and business aviation representatives.
(6) Aviation safety experts with knowledge of NOTAMs.
(7) Human factors experts.
(c) Duties.--The duties of the Task Force shall include--
(1) reviewing existing methods for presenting NOTAMs and
flight operations information to pilots;
(2) reviewing regulations and policies relating to NOTAMs,
including their content and presentation to pilots;
(3) evaluating and determining best practices to organize,
prioritize, and present flight operations information in a
manner that optimizes pilot review and retention of relevant
information; and
(4) providing recommendations for--
(A) improving the presentation of NOTAM information in a
manner that prioritizes or highlights the most important
information, and optimizes pilot review and retention of
relevant information;
(B) ways to ensure that NOTAMs are complete, accurate, and
contain the proper information;
(C) any best practices that the FAA should consider to
improve the accuracy and understandability of NOTAMs and the
display of flight operations information; and
(D) ways to work with air carriers, other airspace users,
and aviation service providers to implement solutions that
are aligned with the recommendations under this paragraph.
(d) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
establishment of the Task Force, the Task Force shall submit
to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report
detailing--
(1) the results of the reviews and evaluations of the Task
Force under paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (c);
(2) the best practices identified and recommendations
provided by the Task Force under subsection (c)(4);
(3) any recommendations of the Task Force for additional
regulatory or policy actions to improve the presentation of
NOTAMs; and
(4) the degree to which implementing the recommendations of
the Task Force described under paragraph (2) will address
National Transportation Safety Board Safety Recommendation A-
18-024.
(e) Applicable Law.--The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5
U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Task Force.
(f) Sunset.--The Task Force shall terminate on the later
of--
(1) the date on which the Task Force submits the report
required under subsection (d); or
(2) the date that is 18 months after the date on which the
Task Force is established under subsection (a).
(g) Authority.--The Administrator shall have the authority
to carry out the recommendations of the Task Force detailed
in the report required under subsection (d).
(h) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) FAA.--The term ``FAA'' means the Federal Aviation
Administration.
(2) NOTAM.--The term ``NOTAM'' means notices to airmen
required by international or domestic regulation or law, as
described in the order issued by the FAA on December 11,
2018, titled ``Notices to Airmen (NOTAM)''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) and the gentleman from Louisiana
(Mr. Graves) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia.
General Leave
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on H.R. 1262, as amended.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia?
There was no objection.
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise to support H.R. 1262, the Notice to Airmen
Improvement Act, introduced by Mr. Stauber and Mr. DeSaulnier.
H.R. 1262 will create a task force to review existing methods for
presenting notices to airmen. Notices to airmen provide pilots with
essential and real-time information regarding abnormalities or issues
in the National Airspace System. For example, notices to airmen alert
pilots to potential hazards in the airspace or at an airport, such as a
closed runway or taxiway. While pilots are required to review all
notices to airmen before flight, there has been concern about the
lengthiness and completeness of the critical information contained in
notices to airmen and how the information is displayed to, and
organized for, pilots.
Under H.R. 1262, the task force will determine best practices for
organizing and presenting flight operations information to pilots in
the most optimal manner and make recommendations to improve the
presentation of notices to airmen while ensuring their accuracy and
completeness.
Recommendations from the task force could help prevent future
aviation accidents and near-accidents. We saw, in July 2017, an Air
Canada A320 almost land on top of five jetliners, with more than a
thousand people on board, awaiting takeoff at San Francisco
International Airport, before executing a go-around. The aircraft came
as close as 60 feet above one of the planes on the ground.
Thankfully, there were no injuries, but this could have been
catastrophic. The National Transportation Safety Board determined the
probable cause of the incident was the pilots' misidentification of the
taxiway for a runway, based in part on their ineffective review of
notices to airmen before flight.
Notices to airmen and airwomen can and must be better for pilots. I
expect the task force established under H.R. 1262 will lead to
recommendations that will improve aviation safety.
[[Page H2772]]
I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance
of my time.
Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Madam Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Stauber from Minnesota for
introducing this legislation and working together with Congressman
DeSaulnier from California.
As Ms. Norton, the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia, noted,
in 2017, at San Francisco International Airport, a NOTAM had been
issued, a notice to airmen, which is usually sent to notify pilots
about changes in airspace or construction conditions or changes of
conditions at airports.
One was issued that indicated that a runway was under construction
and an alternative runway was open. They had an Air Canada flight that
came in while four occupied planes were on the taxiway, and there was a
near miss where this Air Canada flight nearly landed on a taxiway that
they mistook for the alternative runway. It would have caused
widespread death in the event that those five planes ultimately would
have collided.
The National Transportation Safety Board, as noted, did find that the
lack of comprehension, or possibly even reviewing this NOTAM, was a
primary cause.
This legislation creates a task force to look at better ways of
informing, of connecting with pilots, to make sure that they have
accurate information and that they actually read or are aware of these
changing conditions which could, as in the 2017 incident, be the
difference between life and death.
Again, I want to thank Chairman DeFazio. I want to thank Ranking
Member Sam Graves. I want to thank Mr. Stauber, the author of this
bill, with his partner, Congressman DeSaulnier from California.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I yield as much time as he
may consume to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Stauber).
Mr. STAUBER. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of my
bipartisan legislation that improves the safety of air travel. I would
also like to thank my colleague, Mr. DeSaulnier, for his support and
leadership on this piece of legislation.
In 2020, the United States was home to 7 of the top 10 busiest
airports in the world. This means that, as Americans, we have no room
for error when it comes to aviation safety.
Although aviation is the safest form of travel, we must always strive
to do better. This is why we must address the notice to airmen, or
NOTAM, system. NOTAMs are critical, as they relay safety information to
pilots that allow them to understand the possible hazards and
conditions of airports and runways before actually getting to the
destination.
The current system simply is not working as well as it should. NOTAMs
are often buried in lengthy reports, conflating important safety
information with more common alerts. These inefficiencies have the
potential to create life-threatening situations, as described earlier.
My legislation addresses these issues and creates a task force at the
FAA with important input from safety experts and industry professionals
to address what changes need to be made to NOTAMs to make air travel
even safer than it already is.
Americans are more comfortable and excited to travel than they have
been in over a year. Let's ensure that we support this sentiment and
bolster the safety in our skies.
I was proud to work with my colleagues to get this reported out of
the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee unanimously, both last
Congress and this one.
The House also passed this legislation with strong bipartisan support
during the 116th Congress, and I urge the same support this Congress of
the Notice to Airmen Improvement Act.
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I yield as much time as he
may consume to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Guest).
Mr. GUEST. Madam Speaker, first, I would like to thank Chairman
DeFazio and Ranking Member Graves for bringing this bipartisan
legislation to the floor.
H.R. 1262 would create a task force to recommend reforms and
improvements to the notice to airmen system, a crucial domestic and
international flight safety notification to pilots that has become both
inefficient and outdated over the years.
The current state of the notice to airmen system has the potential to
create life-threatening situations for both pilots and their
passengers. This reform would provide the needed steps to provide
important safety information to our Nation's pilots in a timely and
concise manner.
In the most recent FAA reauthorization, Congress made it a priority
that the agency delivers a new and modernized notice to airmen system,
yet we have seen few results to date. This legislation would make that
priority a reality within 1 year from this bill's enactment.
I would like to thank Congressman Stauber for his leadership on this
issue and for prioritizing aviation safety within this bill.
{time} 1400
Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Madam Speaker, in closing, I want to say that the United States has
the safest aviation system in the world, and air travel is the safest
way to travel.
This bipartisan legislation by Congressmen Stauber and DeSaulnier
ensures that we maintain that level of safety for air passengers in the
future. I think it is a great bipartisan piece of legislation. I
appreciate those two gentlemen working on this together. I urge
adoption of the legislation.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Blunt Rochester). The question is on the
motion offered by the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms.
Norton) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1262,
as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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